The Nepal government has decided to ban the popular social media platform TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.
The decision was announced by the Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, during a Cabinet meeting held on Monday. The ban is due to concerns about the platform’s negative impact on social harmony.
Critics argue that the move could stifle freedom of expression in Nepal. They suggest that instead of banning the platform, regulations should be put in place to counter the misuse of social media. The government, however, has cited the need to protect social harmony as the primary reason for the ban.
In the past four years, there have been 1,647 reported cases of cybercrime on TikTok in Nepal. The Cyber Bureau of the Nepal Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and representatives of TikTok had discussed these issues last week. The ban is expected to be enforced following the completion of technical preparations.
This decision comes shortly after the government introduced the 'Directives on the Operation of Social Networking 2023’. According to these new rules, social media platforms operating in Nepal are required to set up their offices in the country. The government has stated that the absence of company representatives in Nepal has made it difficult for authorities to address user concerns and remove objectionable content from the platforms.